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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28115448">And Silver Bones Wait in All Animals</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoreyG/pseuds/DoreyG'>DoreyG</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Vampyr (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bent Over a Table and Fucked Till Incoherent, Blood As Lube, M/M, Masked Ball As An Excuse for Inadvisable Sex, Rimming So Much Rimming Eat That Ass UP</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:15:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,973</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28115448</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoreyG/pseuds/DoreyG</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>His first reaction was an entirely inappropriate surge of happiness, but he soon remembered himself and allowed a far more reasonable sense of suspicion to rise up within him. He was on far better terms with Geoffrey McCullum these days, but that still didn’t mean that it’d be wise to trust the man. He abandoned his hiding place entirely, crossed the room in a few quick strides until he was looming over him in a way that wasn’t quite a threat but also wasn’t quite a friendly greeting. “Hello.”</p><p>McCullum, to his surprise, was also wearing a mask and also dressed up in finery as befitted a masked ball. That didn’t remain the only surprise for long, however; soon McCullum turned around to face him, and his shrewd blue eyes lit up with a light that he’d never thought to see from him. “<i>Hello</i> there, stranger.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Geoffrey McCullum/Jonathan Reid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>81</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Writing Rainbow Silver</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>And Silver Bones Wait in All Animals</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedevilchicken/gifts">thedevilchicken</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>If he’d truly had a choice in the matter he wouldn’t have ever chosen to attend a masked ball, but unfortunately it wasn’t exactly up to him. Charlotte, now the full inheritor of her mother’s estate, had practically begged him to attend a gathering in aid of securing all women the vote and, considering all that had happened since he’d met her, he’d felt unable to deny her request. He had almost managed to convince himself that it wouldn’t be too bad, even; just one night away from the hospital and his work, hobnobbing with people who in day to day life would now probably cross the street to avoid him. He’d faced worse things in the past year, after all.</p><p>As it turned out it was bad, but not quite the level of agonising torture that he’d been expecting from his prior experience of these parties. The worst he could say for the entire affair was that it was somewhat boring and definitely frivolous: a lot of posh people who should’ve known better, talking about insignificant things behind masks that barely covered their faces. He would still far rather be back at the Pembroke, but he supposed that he could tolerate it. For just an hour more, maybe less if Venus Crossley attempted to corner him again.</p><p>At the beginning, those were his only emotions towards the affair. Until he glanced boredly across the room, from where he was hiding half behind a pot plant, and saw an unexpectedly familiar heartbeat moving through the guests.</p><p>His first reaction was an entirely inappropriate surge of happiness, but he soon remembered himself and allowed a far more reasonable sense of suspicion to rise up within him. He was on far better terms with Geoffrey McCullum these days, but that still didn’t mean that it’d be wise to trust the man. He abandoned his hiding place entirely, crossed the room in a few quick strides until he was looming over him in a way that wasn’t quite a threat but also wasn’t quite a friendly greeting. “Hello.”</p><p>McCullum, to his surprise, was also wearing a mask and also dressed up in finery as befitted a masked ball. That didn’t remain the only surprise for long, however; soon McCullum turned around to face him, and his shrewd blue eyes lit up with a light that he’d never thought to see from him. “<i>Hello</i> there, stranger.”</p><p>McCullum could’ve taken out a gun and shot him, and he would’ve been significantly less shocked. It wasn’t as if he was unused to people flirting with him, even now, but he had never expected <i>McCullum</i> to be one of them. All he could do was stand in place and barely restrain his urge to gawp. A thousand thoughts rolled through his head at once: Did McCullum actually think him a stranger? Was this an actual approach? Was he truly a terrible person to be tempted by this unexpected offering?</p><p>McCullum was obviously aware of his confusion, you didn’t get to be the head of an organisation of vampire hunters if you were unobservant, but seemed more amused by it than anything. He took a slow step closer, actually lifted his hand and trailed it deliberately down his arm. “I’ve gotta say, I didn’t expect to see such a fine specimen as you at a party like this.”</p><p>“No,” he said weakly, his mind still whirling in confusion. It was only his customary reluctance to let his guard down around McCullum that kept him in place, and allowed him to resist the temptation to turn on his heel and flee the room without another word. “I didn’t entirely expect to see you here either.”</p><p>McCullum gave him what may have been a warning look for half a moment, but it was quickly gone. The man reached out slowly and deliberately, and wrapped his fingers tightly around his wrist; he could’ve broken loose if he wanted to, of course he could’ve, but probably not without revealing that he wasn’t entirely human. “Why don’t we leave this hoity toity gathering, and go do something a lot more interesting?”</p><p>It would’ve been bad, to casually reveal that he was an Ekon in a crowd of people. That was what he told himself, as he allowed McCullum to tighten his grip on his wrist and drag him out of the crowd and off through what was now Charlotte’s mansion. No matter that nobody seemed to notice that he was a vampire until he actually bit them, no matter that this crowd probably wouldn’t have noticed even then.</p><p>They ended up in a fancy side room, far enough away from the party that even he could only hear the sounds of it distantly. McCullum finally let go of his wrist, and went to lock the door behind them. He stood in the middle of the room, narrowly resisting the urge to rub the flesh that McCullum had just heated up, and allowed himself to feel a decided sense of alarm.</p><p>“Look,” he said, when McCullum had turned back to him with a strangely determined expression upon his face. “Ge-”</p><p>McCullum made a face at that, the almost saying of his name, and crossed the room back towards him in a few quick strides. He wasn’t sure what exactly he was expecting, probably foremost some kind of knife in his gut, but it most certainly wasn’t what he got. McCullum wrapped one hand around the back of his neck, and arched up on his toes to slam their lips together before he could fully get his name out.</p><p>For a long moment he was stunned. He wasn’t sure if McCullum genuinely thought that he was just a handsome stranger, or if he knew exactly what was going on and just didn’t care. If it was the second option the matter was even more confusing; he hadn’t thought that McCullum had liked him in even a friendly way, let alone in a way that led to him attempting to feed his tongue down his throat. </p><p>But after that moment things changed, became significantly clearer and more complex all at once. Maybe it was the fact that it’d been a while since he’d slept with anybody, or the fact of McCullum’s body pressed against his, or the fact that he’d wanted McCullum just a little ever since they’d first locked eyes in Swansea’s former office. Before long he started to kiss back, well aware that this was the perfect way - if not the most moral one - to get what he’d wanted for almost a year now.</p><p>They made out for a while like that, McCullum’s hands fisted brutally in his shirt and him clutching at McCullum’s hips hard enough to bruise, and then McCullum pulled back with wet lips and an intense expression on his face. “I want you to fuck me.”</p><p>This was apparently a day for surprises, and the biggest one was that he didn’t even mind it all that much. He caught his breath for a long moment, even though he didn’t technically need to, and kept clutching on to McCullum even when he tried to move away and put some distance between them. “Here?”</p><p>“Anywhere else you have in mind?” McCullum asked, for a brief moment no longer the seductive stranger but his usual incredibly grumpy self. If anything that grumpiness was somehow all the more alluring, made him even more inclined to just lose his mind and roll with this strange situation for a while. “Think our hostess might get a bit annoyed if we requisition one of her childhood bedrooms to fuck in.”</p><p>“I’m not sure, I think she might be remarkably flexible in that regard,” he said mildly, well aware that Charlotte probably wouldn’t be too thrilled if he fucked a vampire hunter in her childhood bedroom but would have no objections to him fucking anybody else he chose. “Do you have-?”</p><p>“I don’t need it,” McCullum said dismissively, with a lack of care for his person that really shouldn’t have been quite as hot as it was, and turned to brace himself on the nearest table. He was wearing far tighter clothes than usual, his signature baggy coat nowhere to be seen, and he could see all of the long stretch of his back and the ever so tempting curve of his arse under his tight trousers. Suddenly his want for McCullum grew from a vaguely tempted interest, to an absolutely wildfire. “Come on, stranger, <i>fuck</i> me.”</p><p>He stared at McCullum’s back for a long moment, for once hungry for something other than blood. It was still unclear if McCullum knew exactly what was going on, if he knew who he was attempting to convince to fuck him over a table while a masked ball was going on in the same house, but in that moment he decided that it most definitely didn’t matter. He wanted this too much, the spiky and ferocious Geoffrey McCullum downright begging for his cock.</p><p>He didn’t immediately drag McCullum’s trousers down and plunge into his arse, he was feeling a little too contrary for that. Instead he slid to his knees in one smooth movement, and reached around to open the fastenings of McCullum’s trousers. They were far finer than he’d ever expected the man to own, so fine that he found himself half wondering where McCullum had stolen them from, but he hardly minded in this moment. The quality only made them easier to open, easier to slide down McCullum’s thighs until he was fully exposed.</p><p>McCullum had stiffened above him, obviously confused. He got the strange sense that the man would’ve been far less tense if he’d just thrust into him with no preparation at all. “What-?”</p><p>“Hush,” he said, almost gently, and took a moment to appreciate McCullum’s bare arse before leaning in.</p><p>He hadn’t done this since before the war, but he supposed that it was like riding a rather strange bicycle. He started off slowly, but steadily grew more confident as he got used to it. He simply licked along McCullum’s crack at first, got him nice and wet and gloried in tasting the salt of his flesh. McCullum was usually so ferocious and well put together, it was a surprising privilege to get to glimpse a part of him that was so very vulnerable.</p><p>McCullum was still tense above him, but he was obviously more confused than angry. It was like he hadn’t expected any kind of tender treatment at all, and certainly hadn’t expected anybody to be willing to put their mouth on him in such an intimate way. The man remained stiff and unmoving at first, almost reluctant, but soon started to melt into it as he increased the pressure of his tongue. It wasn’t long before he was starting to rock his hips back against him, tentatively at first but soon with growing eagerness.</p><p>He started to make his licks harder and harder, more and more deliberate. It wasn’t long before he formed his tongue into a deliberate point, and pushed it past McCullum’s rim. The taste of him was far more intense here, the salt of his flesh and the hot sweetness of blood pulsing just underneath. His cock had already been stirring in his trousers, but at the taste of him there it quickly started to grow hard. What would it feel like to bury himself in such a tight body, to chase his pleasure while bringing McCullum pleasure in turn?</p><p>He wasn’t sure if McCullum was thinking in the same way, but it seemed likely given how he responded to the penetration. He let out a harsh gasp, one rough enough that it almost transformed into a groan, and then deliberately lifted one of his hands from where it had been clenching on the table and slapped it over his mouth. He widened his stance slightly, and started to rock his hips back even more eagerly into his mouth. He was already fully aroused, the scent of it would’ve probably been thick even to somebody who wasn’t an Ekon. </p><p>It was hard to restrain himself, with so much on offer, but he just about managed to remind himself that this was about McCullum’s pleasure and not his own. He thrust his tongue for a few moments more, and then decided that he might as well attempt to open up McCullum a little further. He moved one of his hands away from where it had been grasping at McCullum’s hip, probably far too hard for comfort, and slipped his fingers up between McCullum’s thighs.</p><p>McCullum tensed at the press of his first finger against his hole; but then, to his profound surprise, let out a long puff of air and deliberately relaxed. He slid his finger in fairly easily alongside his tongue, just kept it there for a moment - gently stretching - before slowly starting to move it. He fucked McCullum with both his tongue and his finger at once, and was genuinely surprised by how much they both seemed to enjoy it.</p><p>It wasn’t long after that that McCullum started to make impatient noises, thrusting back against his mouth with even more enthusiasm than before. A human would’ve probably had to stop and withdraw immediately at the force of reaction, he simply stubbornly held out for about a minute more before withdrawing his tongue and his finger all at once and glancing up again. “Do you think that’ll be enough?”</p><p>“Goddammit, R-” McCullum started, his voice wrecked, and only managed to catch himself at the very last second. He braced himself on the table hard, hung his head and desperately tried to catch his breath. “It’ll be fine. Just get on with it.”</p><p>He <i>knew</i>. He knew, and he didn’t entirely care. There were about a thousand things to unpick in that, and he was too hard himself to get started on even one of them. He rose unsteadily to his feet, hesitated for only a moment - knowing full well that the best option would be to just turn around and walk away - before he stepped forward and bracketed McCullum with his body. “Are you sure-?”</p><p>“I’m certainly not letting you leave me now to get some slick, not when you’ve got me this riled up,” McCullum snarled, still desperately bracing himself. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that he was definitely telling the truth, his cock stood out from his body in an almost painful looking way. He was so captivated by the sight that it took him a moment to realize that McCullum had tilted his head sideways, exposed his neck over the collar of his surprisingly fancy outfit in a deliberate offering. “If you’re really worried, there are easier ways to get all lubed up.”</p><p>He was stunned, somehow even more stunned than he had been all through this incredibly strange encounter. Surely McCullum, vampire hunter extraordinaire who seemed to hate every leech on sight, wasn’t offering what he thought he was offering. Wasn’t suggesting that he should bite into the vein on his neck, so juicy and throbbing and vulnerable…</p><p>But evidently he was, and judging by the flash of his sharp blue eyes over his shoulder - the rest of his face still just about obscured by his mask - he didn’t particularly appreciate the delay. “Come <i>on</i>. Or else I’m going to start wanking myself off without you.”</p><p>“Very well,” he said stiffly, knowing that it was absurd to feel a surge of possessiveness at that but also knowing that absurdity was apparently the order of the night, and stepped in to press his mouth against McCullum’s neck. Even now, having been a vampire for approaching a year, he hadn’t bit that many humans but it was a surprisingly automatic process; especially with McCullum right there, seemingly so very eager for the slide of his teeth. He lapped at the skin for a moment, getting him good and ready, and then slid his fangs in without a single word of warning.</p><p>McCullum stiffened underneath him, a brutal movement, but then let out a low huff of air and deliberately relaxed himself yet again. Which was good, because he didn’t think he could’ve removed his fangs from McCullum’s neck at that moment for love or money. The taste of his blood on his tongue, so long withheld from him, was something magical. It was rich and coppery, strong and coarse, like a shot of fire on his tongue. A large part of him wanted to ignore what they were doing here and just feast, bury himself in the taste of McCullum for a lifetime or more.</p><p>But he had a job here, and that job most certainly did not consist of draining McCullum - a man who had trusted him in the most intimate of ways - dry. He drew out just enough blood to get a decent slick up, very carefully not swallowing because he feared what he’d do if he ingested even a little, and then tore his mouth deliberately away from McCullum’s neck in favour of spitting into his palm instead.</p><p>McCullum shuddered underneath him as he withdrew his fangs, but seemed either too weak or too caught up in what they were doing to actually protest. He would put money on it being the second option, McCullum was a man who had never been weak in his life. He slicked his fingers thoroughly, as McCullum impatiently waited underneath him, and then slid them in between McCullum’s thighs again. He didn’t take long preparing the man, knowing that it wouldn’t be appreciated at all, but rather shoved two fingers into him and efficiently opened him up as he gasped and barely held back from writhing.</p><p>And then he was ready, and there was really no point in hesitating any further. He took his own cock out of his trousers, giving it a pump that it didn’t really need considering that it was already as hard as a rock, and slid it in between McCullum’s legs. It went fairly quickly from there, he pressed deliberately against McCullum’s entrance and McCullum drew in a deep breath and shoved back onto him so hard that a desperate groan clawed its way out of his throat.</p><p>He tried to go slowly at first, even though he knew full well that McCullum wouldn’t exactly thank him for the courtesy. He moved his cock deeper into McCullum’s body with slow jerks of his hips, pressing and pressing until he was finally right up against McCullum’s arse with his chin hooked over McCullum’s shoulder. He forced himself to linger there for a second, wrap his arms around McCullum’s waist and nose at the blood still dribbling down his neck instead of giving in to the animal demands of his body and fucking McCullum for all he was worth.</p><p>McCullum was surprisingly less against this than he would’ve thought, perhaps because he knew what was inevitably coming or perhaps because he’d finally got something in him to keep him occupied. He sagged back against his body willingly, gave a soft moan and clutched hard at the table in front of him with both hands. He didn’t quite bare his neck again, wasn’t quite that trusting, but he also most definitely didn’t yank away from him. He was open to him, rawer than he’d ever been before.</p><p>A part of him thought that it was a beautiful sight, and he very carefully shoved that thought away until it no longer troubled him. There would be time to dwell on that later, when he wasn’t buried so deeply in a vampire hunter’s body that it was hard to tell where he ended and McCullum began. He took in a deep breath for a moment, bracing himself, and then slowly started to move his hips. He would give McCullum the fucking he wanted, the fucking he deserved.</p><p>McCullum seemed even less opposed to this than being held. Instead he made an eager noise, roughly passionate in a way he’d always suspected him capable of but had never quite dared to actually fantasise about, and pushed back onto him. He had started deliberately slowly at first, well aware that he hadn’t done this for a while and not at all sure of McCullum’s levels of experience, but that didn’t last for long with McCullum underneath him. Soon they started to pick up into a proper rhythm, the both of them undeniably desperate for it.</p><p>It was good, but after only a few thrusts he already found himself wanting more. He found himself clutching McCullum’s hips again, probably hard enough to bruise but not exactly able to care. He kept mouthing desperately at McCullum’s throat, not quite biting again but greedily lapping up the traces of blood that remained. He drove himself deeper and deeper into McCullum’s body, and found himself already out of his mind at the feeling of that tight hole clenching around his cock.</p><p>It was McCullum that gave him an idea of what to do next, which was a little strange but no stranger than the rest of this totally unexpected situation had been. He remained sagged back against his chest for a moment, holding onto the table desperately, and then made a soft sound of dissatisfaction and leant forward to brace himself more properly. Spread himself across the table in the process, like a feast for the taking.</p><p>He had never particularly experienced a desire to have his partners be submissive to him before, couldn’t even really say now that he desperately wanted McCullum to give in to his every desire, but he had to admit that the sight of the man sprawled out before him and pinned on his cock was an undeniably tempting one. He leant forward until he was resting over McCullum’s back, warmly draped there, and then went even further and pushed him down to the table properly.</p><p>McCullum made a sharp noise of protest beneath him at that, but soon quieted when he pressed his mouth to his neck again. The man remained stubbornly still for a long few moments, registering his protest at being moved around like a sack of meat, but when he went so far as to press open mouthed kisses against his neck - with just the slightest hint of fangs - he relented yet again. Before long he was eagerly thrusting back onto him again, as lost in this as he was quickly becoming.</p><p>He quickly started to go faster and faster, losing all sense of anything outside of McCullum’s body beneath him. He tried his very best to remember to go slow, to remember that McCullum - for all his ferociousness - was still human with human weaknesses, but it became harder by the moment. He had forgotten what it was like to bury himself in such heat, to forget the world in the slide of body against body. Or maybe it had never been quite as good as this, never as all consuming with anybody other than Geoffrey McCullum who had attempted to kill him and who had only deemed him worthy of respect when he’d just about managed to survive.</p><p>He was already going too fast, already knew that he’d leave McCullum with bruises on his hips and difficulty walking after this, but McCullum still stubbornly tried to keep up with him. He kept driving his hips back, kept panting desperately, kept tightening around him as if determined to make him lose his mind entirely. If he was a paranoid man he’d assume that this was some great plot to make him prove himself a monster after all, but there was no way even a paranoid man could believe that with McCullum moaning so sweetly underneath him. They were both lost in this, just as they’d been a little lost in each other from the moment that they’d met.</p><p>He couldn’t have McCullum hurting himself just because he wanted to have sex with him. That fact led him to desperate measures, clenching one hand around the back of McCullum’s neck and tightening the other one just over his hip until he could see the flesh start to bruise. He then proceeded to slam McCullum down on the table, and take him like an animal just like he’d wanted to from the very beginning.</p><p>He had expected McCullum to be violently opposed to this, had expected McCullum to take against him to a degree that he hadn’t since he’d tried to kill him in the basement in the hospital. But he didn’t, instead he let out a choked off moan and downright attempted to <i>writhe</i> underneath him. It seemed like the fearsome vampire hunter, the most dangerous man that he’d ever met, <i>loved</i> being pinned down and used without a single thought for his desires. Wasn’t that the most fascinating fact he’d come across in all his life.</p><p>All restraint was gone now, and he couldn’t say that he’d miss it. He fucked McCullum brutally into the table, just about restraining himself so he didn’t hurt him irrevocably but also not holding back in any other way. He drove into McCullum’s willing body exactly as he pleased, kept a tight hold on his neck and hip and lapped at his neck and took every single bit of pleasure from him that he could get.</p><p>McCullum responded eagerly, almost wildly. He’d never considered the man particularly restrained before, but now he was absolutely unleashed. McCullum allowed himself to be fucked ceaselessly and only moaned eagerly in response, McCullum allowed himself to be pinned to the table and only whined as his face was rubbed against the rough wood grain, McCullum allowed the wound on his neck to be lapped at - to be brutally sucked at - and only offered up airless whimpers in return.</p><p>They moved against each other wildly, the both of them completely undone. In this room they weren’t enemies, or perfectly neutral parties, or even wary allies. They were just two bodies, moving together ceaselessly and forgetting the entire world outside.</p><p>With that truth between them, it was a miracle that they held out for even half as long. Eventually McCullum let out a brutal, airless noise that was more suited to an animal than a human and slumped forward even more fully than he had before. He came all over the table, utterly ruining the fine wood, and laid there afterwards in a state of utter exhaustion. It wasn’t as if he could judge all that much, and hardly felt inclined to do so even if he could; it only took the unrestrained clench of McCullum’s body around him, and he was spending just as carelessly.</p><p>They panted together for a long few moments in the aftermath, both utterly undone and both entirely unsure what to do about it. The return of reality was slow and painful, the realization that he’d just fucked the head of the Guard of Priwen over a table with his own blood one that he would probably have to sit with for a good few years before he could come to terms with it.</p><p>For now, though, there were more immediate problems to deal with than his moral crisis. He drew in a deep breath, and then passed a warning hand along McCullum’s flank before pulling out and taking a step back. McCullum remained in a state of collapse for a long moment, panting over the table, and then pushed himself up with some effort and turned around to face him. They stared at each other in silence for a long few moments, presumably both vividly aware that they were both still half naked and a mixture of blood - hopefully all from his neck - and come was dripping from McCullum’s hole.</p><p>He had to say something, even if every single thing he could possibly think of to say was woefully inadequate. “Geoffrey, I-”</p><p>McCullum lunged forward, slower than usual but still with a surprising amount of speed for a man who had just been taken apart entirely. He tensed, expecting an attack, but all McCullum did was slap a hard hand over his mouth and glare. “Shut up!”</p><p>He gave McCullum a confused stare, continued speaking against his palm despite that direct order. He could feel himself smearing blood over even more of McCullum’s tender flesh, and tried very hard to ignore what he was doing by continuing to speak. “But-”</p><p>“I <i>said</i>, shut up,” McCullum hissed, but the expression in his eyes was more sad than actually angry. He kept his hand over his mouth for a long moment more, making sure that he wouldn’t speak, and only then removed it and sagged back against the desk again. “Don’t ruin the moment, mysterious stranger. There are certain things I can allow myself, and certain things I can’t. And I want this to remain firmly in the first column.”</p><p>He stared for a long moment, still taken aback but now sad with it, and then gave a resigned sigh. If this was what McCullum was willing to allow himself, if this was how far the lines of denial could stretch… Well, who was he to fight something like that?</p><p>He didn’t nod and leave, though, even though it would’ve probably been easier to do so. Instead he stepped forward into his old spot, and then took another step forward so he was standing in between McCullum’s spread legs. And then, when he received only a mildly confused look in response, put his fingers beneath McCullum’s chin and tilted his head up for a soft kiss.</p><p>It was a surprise when McCullum, after a second of frozen hesitation, kissed him back; but it wasn’t exactly a bad one. If anything, it tasted like hope. And wasn’t that something to hold onto, after everything?</p>
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